Ginger is used worldwide as a cooking spice, condiment and herbal remedy. The Chinese have used ginger for at least 2500 years as a digestive aid and anti nausea remedy and to treat bleeding disorders and rheumatism. It was also used to treat baldness, toothache, snakebite, and respiratory conditions.In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), ginger is considered a pungent, dry, warming, yang herb to be used for ailments triggered by cold, damp weather. Ginger is used extensively in Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India, to block excessive clotting, reduce cholesterol and fight arthritis. In Malaysia and Indonesia, ginger soup is given to new mothers for 30 days after their delivery to help warm them and to sweat out impurities. In Arabian medicine, ginger is considered an aphrodisiac.
Ginger’s medicinal components are derived from the rhizome or root of the plant Z. officinale. Its pungent properties also contribute to its pharmacologic activities. Ginger contains cardiotonic compounds known as gingerols, volatile oils, and other compounds, such as (6)-, (8)-, and (9,10)- shogaol, (6)- and (10)- dehydrogingerdione, (6)- and (10)-gingerdione, zingerone, and zingibain.
Some of the clinically established therapeutic uses of ginger are discussed below.
Post operative nausea and vomiting:
The effect of powdered ginger root was compared with metoclopramide (an anti-emetic agent often used prior to anesthesia) and placebo. In a clinical trial the incidence of prospective nausea and vomiting was measured in 120 women presenting for elective laparoscopic gynaecological surgery on a day stay basis. The incidence of nausea and vomiting was similar in patients given metoclopramide and ginger (27% and 21%) and less than those who received placebo (41%). The requirement for postoperative anti emetics was lower in those patients receiving ginger. The requirements for postoperative analgesia, recovery time and time till discharge were the same in all groups. There was no difference, in the incidence of possible side effects such as sedation, abnormal movement, itch and visual disturbance between the three groups.
Zingiber officinale is an effective and promising prophylactic antiemetic, which may be especially useful for day case surgery.
Effects on platelet aggregation:
In 20 healthy young male volunteers, ginger supplementation (5 gms daily) significantly inhibited the platelet aggregation induced by ADP (adenosine diphosphate) and epinephrine . In human volunteers who took a huge (10 gram) one-time dose of dried ginger, there was a marked inhibition of platelet aggregability. This translates into the utility of Ginger in preventing excess clot formation.
Motion sickness:
Ginger’s efficacy against motion sickness was tested in 80 healthy naval cadets who were unaccustomed to sailing in heavy seas. The cadets took either 1 g of powdered ginger rhizome or 1g of placebo while sailing in heavy seas and maintained scorecards noting their symptoms every hour for the next four hours. In the 48 sailors who reported symptoms of seasickness, ginger appeared to reduce the severity of sea sickness (measured as score 0-9) rather than reducing the number of subjects who reported symptoms.
Knee osteoarthritis:
A 6-week trial with 261 subjects which used 255 mg per day of a patented ginger extract, (EV. EXT 77) reported effectiveness similar in magnitude to that reported with NSAIDs. Apart from the above mentioned indications, ginger is also used in variety of conditions with varying success.
It is known to have cardiotonic, antilipemic, carminative, antiulcer, hypoglycemic, anti-inflammatory effects, antibacterial, antineoplastic and antioxidant properties. However the therapeutic effects of ginger in normal dietary doses are not known. Further studies and larger trials on the therapeutic uses of ginger are warranted.
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